The Enemy?
by blackstarlight17
Summary: Another fic that was a contest entry on Devart, but I'm reposting it here to be safe ' Hope you all enjoy


Another fic posted as mentioned in summary X3

"Hey Zim!" Dib shouted to the green skinned being up a tree, munching on some Irken chips.

"What now you smelly human? It's too hot for me to do anything to take over this disgusting meat planet. If that's why you're bothering me, the mighty ZIM, then be happy for this _horrible_ weather sparing your planet," the male whined as a rock nearly missed his head. However, he knew the human would become a nuisance if he continued to ignore him.

"_Pfft_…I know what you're up to! Other than that chubby guy staying with you, you have another Irken working with you, too!"

"What?" the boy sat up with a confused look in his false blue eyes.

"What are you talking about Stinkbeast?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Zim!" Dib shouted in anger at his enemy. "I have proof of his existence!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. What other Irken?" the boy spoke as he hopped out of the tree. Walking up to him hesitantly, he knew the human wasn't playing around with what he just said.

"Wait? You mean this guy's not with you?" Dib asked as he pulled out several photos, showing them to his enemy, wanting to know what's going on now.

The boy in the photo, who both could immediately tell why one could guess him to be Irken, as he didn't seem to wear a disguise like Tak, but more like Zim's. The two saw him with green skin like all Irkens have, though his eyes were disguised, much like the Irken standing next to the human. Only the irises were a lovely shade of purple, not like the tall Irken, soon learned to be one of the leader's eyes, when the human saw him that one time when his enemy was kidnapped by an alien.

The wig the green skinned male wore was black like the magenta-eyed alien, the locks being semi-short, though long enough to be picked up by the wind. The only thing more noticeable about his hair, would be his bangs, it being longer and split as it hung over his forehead. One clump was blue, the other pink. Even his antenna showed, but from the way they looked, they appeared as if they were part of his hair, showing he's pretty smart, despite the fact he doesn't hide his skin color and not making fake ears or a nose to appear more human.

The supposed Irken wore what appeared to be a blue business shirt, a white coat, almost like a lab or doctor's coat, only left opened. The sleeves of his coat going down to his elbows, while his blue shirt's sleeves went down to his wrists. He wore a peach colored scarf, it hanging loosely around his neck, a bit going over his left shoulder, the rest trailing behind his body. He had on a pair of blue jeans, the article of clothing fitting around his waist well, many thanks to a black belt, but the leggings still sat around the base of his ankles and sneakers, the footwear being black and white.

"He looks Irken, but where's his PAK?" Zim asked as he looked at the photos his enemy had taken.

"Hiding under his coat," Dib spoke as he pulled out another picture, this one having the boy wearing a deep shade of pink swim trunks with the same pair of people, just like with the other photos. However, he showed no sign of going into the water, instead, sat under a red and yellow beach umbrella, reading a book calmly, though the text was unreadable thanks to the shadows and where the human was hiding when he had been taking the pictures.

The only thing that confused Dib would be if the humans with the green skinned boy are real or not, or they're being brainwashed in a similar manner like Tak had done to appear more human as well. Either way, there's a chance they could be in danger if they didn't go and betray the human race by helping the Irkens with their evil plans. From what he could see, one was male, the other female.

The man in the photo looked to be a college kid from his appearance, short blonde hair with a few brown streaks in them, giving a slight sandy color, which seemed to match well with his green eyes. His skin was a slight tan, showing he must do a lot of physical activities, even if his physical appearance didn't look like a jock's. The man wore a brown T-shirt with a pair of white jeans, matching his white sneakers. Like the man, the woman also looked to be in college as well, only having orange hair, it tied in a pair of pigtails on top of her head, the tips dyed white. She wore a blue sweater vest with a black T-shirt underneath, it matching with her knee length jeans, wearing a matching pair of sneakers like the man.

"That's-that's ex-Invader Arune!" Zim gasped when it finally dawned on him of who it was in the pictures.

"Ex-Invader?" Dib questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, from what I, the great ZIM know, he's very dangerous. He caused massive damage in the research department on the day Irk had blacked out for ten years, it being the time I was a mere smeet along with Invader Skoodge and our mighty Tallests…hey wait a minute? Why am I, ZIM, telling you this?"

"I don't know, you just started too. But how dangerous is he? If there's a chance he could endanger Earth, then I'm gonna stop this guy. But I might need some help since you seem to know him," the human explained.

"Yes, he's _very_ dangerous," the Irken spoke as he ran off, the human left behind before hurrying off to his place.

As he ran, he went to turn a corner before running right into the very alien he took photos of. "YOU!"

"What are you talking about?" the green skinned male spoke as he looked nervous, almost like he was scared. He stood up along with the other, the human fixing his glasses, but seemed to know who he was enough, while he was fixing his scarf.

"You're an Irken, aren't you?"

His eyes widened before looking away with tears at the edge of his eyes. "Yes, I am one. Didn't think anyone other than Lee and Shawn would figure it out."

"Wait? You're admitting, and who are these people you mentioned?"

"I guess you could say, they're my foster parents. But how were you able to figure out that I was an Irken? I'm the only one here as far as I know" the male, Arune, spoke as he stood up straighter, clearly showing he was much taller than Dib, maybe a head or two shorter than the Tallests.

"Well, you might get mad, but there's this other Irken trying to take over this planet and…kinda told him about you" Dib nervously spoke before seeing the other's skin pale greatly before fainting right then and there. "Oh man. This is just perfect, just perfect," the human grumbled, as he knew he couldn't leave him here. Especially if he was acting like this, he knew there was something more about this alien than what he was told, probably even to Zim. So he helped him up onto his back, surprised at how light he is and carried him back to his place.

"What happened?" Arune grumbled as his eyes slowly opened, seeing a familiar face loom over his. "You, are a jerk for revealing my identity." Sitting up, he found himself in a bedroom, probably this human's from the looks of all the extraterrestrial gear lying or hanging around the room. The green skinned male found his scarf resting on a nearby desk, his white coat draped over a chair. "Hey, can I take this off? I'm overheating from being under the covers."

"Uhh…sure." Dib watched as the Irken remove his blue work shirt, revealing a black tank top, the male looking quite relieved of cool air on his skin. "Hey…umm…I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. I though you were working for Zim."

"ZIM! He's here! I thought he'd get deactivated by now with all the mayhem the brat's caused," the Irken exclaimed, a shocked look on his face before noticing the human was still next to him. "Sorry, if any of that confused you in someway."

"What do you mean by Zim being deactivated?"

"It's the Irken way of execution. And with what Zim's done, I'm surprised he's still alive, the Tallests hate him with every fiber of their being."

"What exactly _did_ he do to be hated so much?" Giving a slight sigh, the Irken told the human everything he knew about Zim, at least until he had left Irk. "Wow. And why did you leave?"

"I just got tired of seeing war and violence. I wanted peace. I actually begged to have a planet spared from being demolished and turned into something to their liking, it being a planet I was assigned to take over. So, to keep it safe, I used the technology I had and convinced a few scientists from Planet Vort to help me with tricking everyone else. I managed to find a dead planet, set some hologram devices to make it look lively when it's _'destroyed'_ to make it into their liking. But when I was called back, I knew that if they found out I deceived them, I'd be deactivated. So I came up with a plan to escape, but it didn't go how I wanted."

"What?" Dib stared in shock of what he heard.

"I got ratted out and nearly captured. Thankfully the one who did, doesn't know about what I did to save the planet I was assigned to. Thankfully the bastard's dead since he failed in apprehending me. At least I hope he is, it is a pretty heavy penalty for failing to capture a fugitive. Especially for what I did."

"What did you do?"

"Oh you know, fuck a few machines to make it appear like they stalled. And they were those stupid snack machines too. Therefore, they were more worried about stuffing their faces than chasing me. Oh yeah, and to really piss them off, I set a few plastic explosives in the labs, though I made it where everything was covered in taffy and all the scientists were stuck until they either ate their way out or were cut loose. Nothing to drastic as means of killing someone or a whole bunch of Irkens."

"That's really cool. But, what planet were you assigned to take over?" the human asked, amazed that not all Irkens are evil.

"Earth."

"Earth! But Zim is to take over! How is that possible?" Dib's face held a look of pure shock, not believing what he just heard.

"It's probably because when I was assigned, I didn't know. I was actually sent to search for planets beyond our normal mapping. And that's how I discovered Earth in the first place and its fellow planets. So I'm guessing that when I lied about the planet I was on, they must not have gone past where I marked as my _'assigned'_ planet, finding no need to do so at the moment. Plus after what I did, they need to be better prepared in case there's ever a chance I might be lurking there or anyone else against the Armada."

"Wow. So…how are we going to stop Zim and protect you?"

"Well, judging by the time, he's probably already told the Tallests that I'm still alive and given my location being here. But, if we're lucky and he hasn't just yet, we might have a chance to stop him, and maybe convince him to spare me. Maybe even tell him the truth about the Tallests of how they lied to him."

"Man, and I thought your people were a bigger threat. But if they don't want Zim around, not caring if he dies or not, then…" Dib spoke as he looked to the ground, feeling his eyes mist over slightly.

"You care about him, don't you?" Arune spoke.

"Wh-what? What do you mean?" the human yelped in surprise, his eyes wide in shock of what he heard.

"Well, for starters, you're blushing. Also, if you really didn't want Zim to succeed in this _'mission'_ of his, you would've done it by now. I can tell your more than capable of succeeding with capturing or killing the little green menace. So the only thing I can think of would be you caring about that headache more than you're letting on, even if you didn't realize it at first."

"You really think so?" the human questioned as he looked up, feeling a hand on his head in a kind manner.

"I'm not wrong about these kind of things. Shawn and Lee taught me that when I came back to this planet."

"How'd you meet them?"

"When I returned here, I got shot down and been in hiding. You see, those two aren't human either. You could say, demons. So we've stuck together, them having to change their identity whenever possible. As for me, not so much, people don't tend to notice me for some reason. But oh well, easier for me to blend in without being noticed that I've been around for some time."

"So we should get going and stop Zim," Dib spoke as he got up from his seat, giving Arune space to climb out of the bed. He threw his blue shirt back on before adding his white coat; his scarf put back in its respective place. After a quick search, he got his sneakers back on. Nodding, the two hurried out of the house, the Irken following his newly made friend to Irken's base, hoping they aren't to late.

"This it?" the taller male asked when they came upon the base, it looking like something the shorter Irken would make.

"ZIM!" the human cried as he busted through the doors with more speed than he could ever realize, managing to dodge the gnomes, the other right behind him.

"I'll take that as a yes," the Irken replied as they rushed to find an elevator to take them down to the lab, the Irken finding one in a trashcan next to the couch. "Dib, over here." Nodding, the boy hurried over, two jumping down, it taking them to their destination in record time. "Don't worry, I used my PAK to disable the computer's security setting so it doesn't know we're in here, and Zim won't see us coming."

When in the main lab, keeping hidden from the Irken and his SIR, they watched him, waiting to see if he's made contact or not. If he did, then they're screwed, if he didn't, then they still have a chance.

"Now I must contact my TALLESTS! And tell them that Ex-Invader Arune is on this dirt planet and find out what I, the mighty ZIM, must do" the Irken exclaimed to his minions, one rolling around in mashed potatoes, the other hovering and squeaking.

"Stop Zim! You can't call them! You don't understand!" Dib cried as he tackled the alien before he could even press any buttons.

"Release ZIM at once smelly wormbaby!"

"Not if you're going to kill Arune and yourself!"

"What are you talking about?" the Irken snapped when he tried to force the human off him, the other showing amazing strength with pinning him. "And get your germy body off of ZIM!"

"Not until you hear Arune out Zim! Not until…not until I know you'll be…be safe," the human spoke softly at the last part, surprising the Irken of his words.

"Fine," the pinned one grumbled, though still surprised by the other's actions.

Once sure he wouldn't pull anything after punching a few keys into the computer, preventing it from attacking to save his master. Afterwards, he managed to keep GIR busy by giving him some pocket lint and a pack of gum he quickly pulled from his pocket. With Minimoose, he just floated there, squeaking angrily, though was assured his master wouldn't be harmed, but didn't believe them, at least not yet. That all done, the taller Irken sat down after situating Zim, so he wouldn't be stuck in an awkward position on the floor, seeing the younger alien blushing slightly of how close their bodies were at first. Giving a soft sigh, he explained everything he told Dib, watching magenta eyes widen with disbelief of what he was told.

"Do you understand now Zim? I'm sorry that your mission's fake, but you can make up for it by never making contact with those bastards again. I can put in a program in your PAK to make it look like you died like I did with mine and you'll be able to live anywhere you want. But I think you'll like it here if you give it a try more, like I did when I first came here. If you need a place to stay in case you can't keep your base up anymore, you can stay with me, Shawn and Lee won't mind and can make a fake certificate to have it appear as if we're brothers."

"I-I-I…I don't believe you! You're trying to fill my head with LIES! LIES I SAY!" the Irken screamed in frustration.

_**SMACK**_

Arune's eyes were wide with shock from watching the human slap the Irken across the face, a red mark left on his face, most likely going to turn into a bruise from the looks of it.

"Don't you get it! Your _precious_ Tallests, are the ones' who lied to you! Arune's just trying to save you from making the biggest mistake in your life! If you call them now, they'll most likely blow up this whole planet to get rid of him, probably doing it when you're still on it. Think about it Zim! And I mean _really_ think about it! Do. You. Want. To. Die?" Dib snapped as he looked into the other's eyes, watching for any signs of him acknowledging the truth for once.

The Irken had his eyes wander to the floor, seeing the truth in their eyes, a part of him not wanting to believe it, but knew the other part, his instinctive part knew and was strong enough for him to realize it. He felt tears at the edges of his eyes, but didn't register the fact that he was crying, that is until he felt a clawed hand wipe at his face, wiping away the tears.

"So it is true?" he whispered softly, getting solemn nods from the other two. "So that time I was on trial, I really was going to die? All those mess ups I made on Irk, they were never admired as greatness, just badness?"

"Yeah, 'fraid so," Arune spoke softly as he pulled his fellow Irken into a hug, something that would never have been done on their planet had they stayed and do what they were told right.

"But how will know they I'm dead? And what about him?" the Irken asked pointing one claw towards Skoodge, who hid in the shadows, stunned at what he heard, knowing about Zim's mission being a fake, but about the other's story.

"Well, you gonna rat me out as well?"

"N-n-no Ex-Invader…"

"It's Arune. I'm no Invader. Not anymore," he spoke with a small smile as he looked to the other, "I'm guessing you're Skoodge?"

"How'd you know?" the Irken asked.

"Just in case there were others like me, I kept untraceable tabs on Irk. If there were any, then I could try to save them. But with all the chaos Zim made, I lost that contact quite some time ago."

"That's pretty impressive," the Irken spoke as he looked to his chaotic friend, who was being comforted by the human, who not long ago, slapped him. "And I think I'll take your offer of pretending to die after being shot out of a cannon when I finished my mission in conquering Blorch."

"If the Tallests really don't care about me, then…I'll fake my death too" Zim spoke in a soft voice, signs of being upset showing still.

"Alright then, both of you have your backs face me so I can get to work. Dib, here's my cell, on speed dial, it says Shawn, Lee, and home. Pick one and whoever picks up, tell them I'll be coming home late. And if they don't believe me, put it near me so I can talk to them myself. Kay?"

"Sure," the human spoke as he did what he was told. After scrolling, he picked the first name he saw, Shawn. After a few rings, it picked up, hearing a the voice of a young man on the other end. "Hello, are you Shawn, a friend to Arune?"

"Yes, how do you know him?"

"I'm a friend of his. He's going to be running late, he's helping a couple of his own species who don't want anything to do with their people anymore. If you don't believe me, I can move the phone over to him so you can talk to Arune" the boy spoke as he watched the Irken work on the two PAKs, showing that his knowledge of his past life would never be forgotten. It soon caused him to suddenly wonder what guilt he must carry for any other missions given to him before that one single mission that changed his life. Does he have nightmares of anyone he might've killed? Or about how he used to worship the Tallests like Zim and Skoodge?

"I can hear the truth in your voice kid. If it gets to late, I'll call back to check on him and see if he or the other two need a ride home. Tell Arune to be careful," Shawn spoke before the pair did a quick bye and hung up.

"That guy seems to trust me. He also said he'll call again if it begins to get pretty late for you. Just to make sure you're okay and the three of you might need a ride," the human explained as he watched one PAK being finished, the owner standing up with a shake of probable goose-bumps of the risk he just took along with the other.

"Good. Figured Shawn would trust you. He's able to somehow tell if one is lying or not…heh…could never get away with any mischief I did. It usually around Christmas when I would search and managed to find the presents, only to try and lie about not knowing them. He's like a father to me, and I'd die to make sure he was okay, the same with Lee. I wouldn't know what to do if I ever lost either them" the Irken spoke softly as he worked on the remaining PAK, finishing just as he noticed something in the deadly weapon/life support. "Whoa."

"What's wrong?" the Irken having his PAK worked on asked with a nervous tone.

"Did the Tallests ever work on your PAK when you guys were growing up?"

"I think so. It was before they became Tallests and we were on a mission together and I got injured, mostly being my PAK. Tallest Purple was freaking out, Tallest Red being the one to repair it. Why'd you ask?"

"Seems he did more than save your life. Can't believe I was wrong about those idiots," the former Invader laughed as he leaned away, a smile on his face, though looked half-insane from whatever he discovered.

"What?" Dib cried as he hurried over to the Irken, checking to make sure he was still breathing. "Zim, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel fine," the Irken spoke as he felt himself blush a bit when the human pulled him into a hug. "D-D-Dib?" he squeaked, surprised he said his name instead of some sort of insult. "Arune, what was it you found in my PAK? I've gone through it dozens of times in the past, and I've found nothing out of the ordinary."

"It's something you'd never expect. Your emotion filter, it's a fake."

"A fake!" the other two cried out, the human confused, but had an idea of what it was by what it was called.

"Yeah. I took it out since it wouldn't affect the rest of your PAK. We should examine it, but it looks like a chip with a shitload of memory" the Irken spoke as he walked over to the computer, attaching the item to it and started typing with speed and precision, not even calling out his spider legs to help. "Holy…I don't believe it. This chip carries the memory files of all the military data, and…a message?"

Clicking on the little envelope with the little red Irken mark on it, it suddenly switched to a video screen, a picture of a much younger Red on the monitor.

"Zim, if you're watching this, then that means you found about your emotion filter being fake. You were smart, but I was always smarter. Since our late Tallests deaths were by your hands, which I know was an accident, Purple and I were chosen to be the new ones thanks to our heights. But we found out something disturbing when we got curious about how it's all done," Red paused a moment, looking like he was trying to keep himself together, though showed no signs of crying, instead, looked to be frustrated.

"I've never seen him like this before," Zim commented before quieting when the video file version of Red continued.

"I found out that Tallest Miyuki had plans to make peace and create treaties instead of invasions. But you remember how ruthless she is when it comes to invasions, but pretty kind and gentle with our species? Especially with you, Zim. Well, you can thank those damn Control Brains for that. It was the same with Tallest Spork. And for me, I didn't really care, I thought, no I _believed_ that they wanted to conquer planet after planet, having me want to do the same thing in their honor. But Purple, he…he was just like Tallest Miyuki. He wanted to try and bring peace as well. He was even starting on speeches to say at our opening ceremony where we'd be forever known as Tallests."

"Damn…" Arune whispered his eyes wide, a mix of shock and horror written into his features from what he's heard so far.

"But, with what the Control Brains were going to do to us. I had to save what little of our old lives we had in this chip. I filled it with every detailed battle strategy of every planet I know. Every strategy is in there, I don't know if any will be used, or even for the planet it was set up for, but I made others too in case that were to happen. But it also carries all the weaknesses our ships have, where our defenses would be low, where we'd most likely not check. Everything if you ever decide to fight back and end this nightmare once and for all."

"I don't believe this is happening," Skoodge muttered softly as he stared at the screen, shocked written into his features like everyone else.

"And the only thing I could think of, knowing that to protect you, the little headache you are, I knew I would have to find away to get rid of you in order to save you. I just hope that you're the one seeing this, if not, Ex-Invader Arune. I don't know why, but I feel you'll somehow run into him from what I know about the guy ever since he left. Zim…if you're still alive and watching this. Just know that Purple and I have always cared about you, even if we didn't really show it" Red spoke with a small choked sob escaping his lips.

"T-Tallest Red…" the small Irken whimpered when seeing that he was right all along, his leaders did care, they just don't seem to remember if the Control Brains had gone and brainwashed them both.

"Zim, along with the military data. I also downloaded a special virus that won't hurt it, you, or anything except the programming that will be done to us. If you succeed in sending the virus to us, then we'll be free, free to make things right. But if it doesn't work, I want you to send a copy of everything on this chip to any Vortians you find who also want to bring peace. Please Zim, I'm counting on you. The same with Arune as well if he's with you."

"Invader Red, you've got a mission to take" a voice outside the room spoke.

"Be right there!" the Irken replied, looking startled and panicked of nearly being caught red-handed. "I hope that when this is all over, we'll be able to regain our friendship. Goodbye Zim." And like that, the transmission ended, the Irken who carried this chip looking stunned of what he's heard, his head light before tumbling into a pair of familiar arms, his world going black.

"Huh?" the Irken replied sitting up from a bed, in a room that isn't his, nor Dib's, making him wonder, yet not feel afraid.

"You're okay Zim. After you blacked out, I called Shawn to pick us up and put you into my bed for the time being. Dib's been by your side since you fell into his arms. I also sent the virus encoded in the chip, so we should be getting results pretty soon. But man, I never expected the Control Brains to be the real enemy."

"I think we'll succeed. When I was on trial, I remember having the Control Brains trying to take my memories, but they complained about so much bad data that they ended up getting confused and started acting stupid" the Irken explained when he looked to the other before what he said about Dib registered. Turning in shock to the side of the bed, he found the boy fast asleep in a chair, his head resting on the bed. "I thought he hated me."

"No, not anymore after I talked to him and he realized just how alone you are, even when you didn't think you were. And he cares about you more than any friend or sibling ever could."

"You mean…" Magenta eyes were wide with shock, the Irken feeling his face flush when the supposedly sleeping human woke up and pulled him into a kiss, showing he heard their conversation.

"Does that answer it?" the human spoke as he slowly pulled his glasses on, a small smile on his face, it growing bigger when the other nodded.

"Hey, I know you two would like some alone time. But I just want to say one thing, this is my bed, so don't get any ideas. Also, the virus has probably reached them, so we should go into my lab and see the progress. Skoodge and I have been working on repairing the communication system, and finally got it working again. Come on," Arune explained as he headed to the door. His white coat and blue shirt were long gone, along with his shoes, wearing only a pair of socks, jeans, and black tank top, his PAK showing thanks to a hole made on his back.

The other two nodded, following after their friend, not believing how much has happened, not even realizing that several days have passed since Zim fainted. The Irken was filled in on everything that's happened. Dib got their homework, Arune did fake calls to the skool to explain he might be out for a few days. He was told of some of the humorous things that went on at the building, the Irken finding himself laughing as they walked side by side behind the taller male. Nervously, the shorter one reached his hand out to take the human's, the other noticing and grabbed his, squeezing it to bring comfort, knowing he must be scared about how the Tallests must be feeling thanks to the virus.

When entering the lab, it cleverly hidden inside a closet, it first having to be emptied of its contents to get through the secret door in the back. Pressing a hidden button, shaped like a stain, a door opened on the chimney, it being big enough to fit an full-grown human male, meaning even Shawn must've come down at times. Inside the lab, the two stared in awe at how advanced it looked, the Irken knowing this technology beats the Vortians for sure.

"Video's set, just need your password to get it going and show us what we need to see," Skoodge called from his seat, the Irken joining him and punching in a password with seven stars across the screen before hitting enter.

"What password you used if you don't mind me asking?" Dib spoke as he and his newly gained lover walked up, standing behind the two.

"What's the one thing many wish for if oppressed?"

"Freedom?" the two Irkens spoke with the human looking surprised of such a powerful word used to protect this whole system.

"Exactly. Now hush, I sent the video to track the Tallests down. We should get visual in five, four, three, two…"

The group watched when seeing the two Irkens dressed in armor stumble into their shared bed chamber, the purple clad one falling to his bed, it covered in sheets and blankets matching his eyes and clothes. The other collapsing into his bed adorned with red like his co-leader's bedspread matches his person.

"I-I-I can't believe the Control Brains deactivated themselves," Purple commented with a bit of shock in his voice.

"It was Zim, I'm sure of it. We're back to our old selves and now can rule Irk anyway we want to now. There are no stupid giant brain freaks to _control_ us. Or, any other Irken picked for leader in the future. We're free, we're finally free," Red spoke with tears of joy sliding down his face.

"But it isn't over. We have to make peace with the planets we destroyed, enslaved, and so many other things we did wrong."

"Do you still remember your old speeches?"

"Yeah."

"Well, use them, just tweak them and reveal the evil those stupid brains did."

"I just wish Zim was still alive," Purple spoke with tears shining in his eyes, the other also beginning to cry.

"Not exactly my Tallests," Arune spoke when leaning into a microphone and pressed a red switch, a mischievous grin on his face. The pair jumped, looking around for the source of the sound, shock written in their faces, as well as looking embarrassed of being caught crying at a time like this. "This is Ex-Invader Arune speaking. Just wanted to let you two know that both Invader Zim is safe along with Invader Skoodge." Giving a nod, he moved out of the way so the two could talk.

"Invader Skoodge reporting in my Tallests."

"Invader Zim reporting Tallest Red, Tallest Purple."

"You're alive?" the purple clad Irken spoke as he looked around for any cameras, even pinching himself in case he was dreaming. He went to pinch his co-leader, but the other slapped his hand away.

"Knock it off you snack happy idiot. We're both awake," the red clad leader scolded with the other giving a sheepish grin. "I'm glad you three are safe. Are any of you returning to Irk?"

"Sorry my Tallests, but Earth's been my home since I left. But I will visit whenever I can, so long as I can bring my _parents_ with me," Arune snickered when the two demons appeared behind him. "Hold on, go to your monitor and you'll have visual of us in three, two, one…"

"It is true! You are alive! We're not crazy!" Purple cried out in joy, leaping into his friend's arms before being shoved off.

"This is Shawn and this is Lee," the Irken spoke as he introduced the pair.

"Hello there," the woman known as Lee spoke with a grin. "It's great to see you two as friends than enemies. I'm glad. I hate seeing hatred and violence."

"Same with this crybaby," Red chuckled before being hit in the head with an opened bag of donuts. "For once could you act your age!"

"We're the same age, along with Zim and Skoodge. So there," the Irken replied sticking his tongue out as he sat on the floor cross-legged.

"Since you're going to be doing a bunch of different things, basically peace, you're going to need protection from any who believed the ways the Control Brains made the two of you follow. So I'll return to act as your personal bodyguard," Skoodge spoke as he gave a salute to the two Irkens on screen.

"What about you Zim?" the red eyed alien asked.

"I would if I didn't have a reason to stay," Zim spoke as he felt Dib's arm wrap tightly around his waist, pulling him in close.

"Gotcha. Well, congrats on finding love. Just don't blow him up or anything," the red clad leader joked.

"Hey!" the other whined, pouting his lips before being spun to face the human and given a quick kiss. "Warn me if you're going to do that! Nearly gave me what you humans call a _'heart attack.'_ I really don't feel like dying right now. Especially after all that's been done in these last few days."

"Zim, at least promise me you'll come to Foodcourtia to join us in celebrating our newfound freedom, as well as announcing about returning the planets we took and re-building everything we destroyed. You, Arune, and Skoodge are considered heroes. I also get the feeling your new boyfriend helped out too, along with those two humans…"

"Demons," Shawn corrected getting a smack on the back of the head by Lee.

"Demons, you all deserve to be rewarded and treated like heroes."

"I'll try, but when do you think you'll try to have this celebration?" the Irken spoke as he felt his lover hug him tighter.

"Well, first we have to clear it up and explain everything to the rest of the Empire, and get those who are still out on their missions home. Once that's done, then we can start planing the celebration with less worry of our own attacking. The rest of the others who we attacked or conquered, we'll have to send them a peace treaty to sign as a form of an invite, since we don't want to risk someone trying to kill us off. Once we know, we'll tell you."

"I'll start on the treaties and the speech we'll need to say for the Empire to understand what's happened," Purple chirped happily as he got to his feet.

"See you then my Tallests, Arune and company over and out," the Irken spoke as he and everyone else gave a salute to the leaders, as the screen went blank, communications disconnected.

"I can't believe it still. We're going into a peaceful direction," Skoodge spoke after a few days passed, the Irken having his ship ready to fly back to Irk and perform his new job as a bodyguard instead of an Invader. "You sure about not coming home, Zim?"

"I'm sure. I don't want to leave Dib. Even though I was born on Irk…Earth, it's become my home, so I can't just go up and leave like that. But I will come to the celebration and bring my boyfriend with me," the other spoke as hugged his friend goodbye, the two having tears fall from their eyes. "But I am going to miss you. Be sure to visit as often as you can. Even if you have to drag our Tallests with you to do so."

"I'm pretty sure that they'd be more than happy to come with an invite given out like that, Zim," Skoodge laughed. "See you!" he called as he started to rise in his ship, his friend waving goodbye as well. They were lucky it was a peaceful night, most in bed save for a small handful, stormless clouds filling the sky, no moon shining. It was perfect for him to leave without being seen by someone with a brain.

Few months later, the Irken got the invite from his Tallests, having him hurry over to his boyfriend's house. After knocking on it and getting an answer from the father who still didn't think of him as an alien, just a kid with a skin problem. The disguised Irken asked to see Dib, Membrane telling him that he's in his room and could go ahead upstairs, knowing about the pair's relationship, glad that his son's not only got a true friend, but found love as well.

"DIB!" Zim squealed as he pounced the human from behind, the other giving out a yelp of surprise, only to counter the attack and pin his slimmer boyfriend on the bed, kissing him deeply. "The invite came! And if it came for me, it came for Arune too!"

"When does it start," the amber eyed human asked as he played with an antenna he pulled free from the wig, getting the other beneath him to shudder.

"Two weeks. Since that stupid girl released that flesh eating bacterial mold in the skool, we should be back for at least another six to eight weeks," the other whimpered in pleasure given to his antenna. "Stop it. Do you want Gaz trying to kill us if I made to much noise, or make your father faint again?"

"Hey it was funny seeing him faint at least," the other joked.

"Yeah and nearly blew my cover. Just because we're dating, doesn't mean I'm going to reveal myself to the world I'm not human, but an alien. For all we know, those creepy Swollen Eyeball creeps could spring up without warning."

"Remember, I got out of that crazy group and disconnected all my computer equipment from them."

"Right. So you ready for a trip to space? I was thinking we'd leave on Saturday, since it'll take some time before we reach our destination. Plus, I was thinking of taking you around on a tour of Irk, you've always wanted to know about my species," Zim snickered as he nuzzled his face into the other's chest, a smile plastered on his face.

"Sure, let me just check with my dad about leaving for that long."

"He won't believe you."

"Not if I were to say you were going to meet family members and you invited me to come along," Dib chuckled as he got off his lover, a part of him not wanting to leave and instead nearly ravage the other.

"Sneaky. Another reason I love you so much," the Irken laughed softly as he lied on his stomach watching his boyfriend leave the room calling for his dad.

Couple minutes later, the human came back with a big grin on his face, "He said it was okay, so long as I don't try raising the dead again or do anything to embarrass him."

"Wow, an impossible challenge for you," the alien teased.

"Come on you, off the bed," the human spoke. "Don't make me flip the covers again to send you off." Pouting, he got up and off the mattress, though put himself to work with the human in packing his things for the trip, the Irken not needing much, but knew his lover did, or at least thought so. "Hey, just wondering. Will I be able to breathe on your planet's atmosphere?"

"No, you're head will shrivel into a prune and your belly will turn inside out before you completely explode…" Zim spoke looking at the horrified face. "Kidding, you'll be able to breathe. Seems our planets have a similar atmosphere and oxygen, even though we don't have many plant life. But we've got other things to produce the necessary oxygen."

"Sadistic bastard," Dib grumbled before having a pair of underwear thrown at his head, it draping of the scythe shaped hair. "Very mature Zim. Very mature."

"Love you too," the other grinned before pulled into another kiss, letting out another moan before they heard a thud outside the bedroom, it's door left open. "You're dad fainted again," he mumbled through their kiss.

Turning, the human grinned, "No. This time it was Gaz…_sigh_…I told her we were dating. Either she didn't listen, or didn't believe."

"I think she'll believe you now, and listen better after that kind of shock," Zim snickered. Laughing, the human male agreed, the two finishing their kiss before finishing up with packing his things for the trip to Irk.

Upon Saturday's arrival, the two lovers went to Arune, who had a ship built to fit several people inside, than just his family alone. Along with them, the shorter Irken brought along Gir and Minimoose. One, he didn't trust the SIR alone for this long, and two, they're like his family too. He even made sure the moose would record the event so his computer would get to see as well, since he pretty much has a personality of his own unlike most computers.

From there, the group flew towards Irk, reaching their destination in record time, none driven to insanity by the SIR, as he was kept busy by Lee, who played games only a small child would enjoy, entertaining him the whole way. There, the Earthlings were given a full tour of the planet, occasionally meeting Irkens Zim knew, or Arune knew from his time living on his old home. A few made glares about the traitor and defective returning, showing not everyone is agreeable with the Tallests new plans. But the others were much friendlier.

When tours were over, and it nearing the celebration time, they got their things and headed to Foodcourtia, their next destination. When they grew closer, Arune put his ship on autopilot, tell them that they should do a quick clean up and get something cleaner on so they'd look presentable.

When he came out clean with special water that doesn't affect Irkens, he was dried off and dressed in a suit, it being a dark brown, almost black, color, a white undershirt and plum colored tie. He then pulled on a pair of black dress shoes. His PAK was showing, meaning that this outfit must've been made for special occasions, so had it made where it would show his PAK, unless he wanted to look like he had weird lump growing on his back.

Zim wore the same uniform, only this set was clean. Dib and Shawn pulled on similar black suits, the only difference being the older man having a yellow carnation on, the younger one having a very light, almost white, pink carnation. Lee wore a powder orange dress, its sleeve going over her left shoulder, as well as went down to her slim ankles. She wore a matching pair of sandals with semi-high heels. Her orange hair was tied in a French braid, it curled up carefully into a bun near the top of her head.

Once there and the celebration began, it started with speeches given by the leaders. When they finished, many who heard and could see they were telling the truth applauded, glad to have the Irkens as good guys now. After the noise died down, the two leaders called up the three Irkens from Earth, awarding them with beautiful pendants, it being their way of giving out medals.

The pendants were made of a glittering deep green stone, almost like emerald, it embedded with deep violet stones, to shape out the Irken Empire insignia. The pendants were hung off of a burgundy ribbon, it soon draped around their necks, each one resting perfectly on their chests. Zim took a quick glance at his best friend, seeing that he for once wore a uniform that wasn't stained, instead was clean and looked a lot more serious than he did in the past.

From there, the two leaders released everyone into mingling and chatting, the two stealing the magenta eyed Irken for a few moments to apologize for all the cruel things they did to him in the past. Unlike before where the old Zim would've said it was no problem and ignore all those painful insults thrown at him. Instead, he told them he was hurt at first, but it's now in their past, never to haunt them again and they can start anew, restart things the way it should be. The way Miyuki and Spork wanted before becoming the Tallests, a peaceful time where Irkens helped instead of harmed others.

Pleased with their reactions, mainly by how they cried in joy, hugging him, almost crushing the small Irken to death, he managed to slip away when they calmed down and got caught up in a conversation with some other aliens. As he walked back to the love of his life, the human who he knows will protect him, knowing that when in his arms, he is at his mercy, he looked around at everyone. He could see others of his own kind who were more accepting of a peaceful life chatting with other aliens, some talking about asking the Tallests about ideas they had on how to fix up the planets that had been conquered. Zim spotted Arune, who was by the snack stand, talking to none other than the Vortian, Prisoner 777, or Meerow being his actual name, the two seemingly getting along like they were old friends. Probably were for all he knew.

When reaching Dib, the two hung out together, danced together, even left the party to spend time alone, both sitting together, watching the stars.

"You happy?" the human asked as he pulled his boyfriend into his lap, the other wriggling a bit to get comfortable.

"What do you mean?" the other asked, letting out a small yawn.

"You know. Us, your Tallests being freed from the Control Brains, peace being made throughout our universe. That kind of stuff," the other spoke as he laid a trail of kisses up the Irken's neck to his jaw line.

"Of course. But I feel most happy when I'm with you. I wouldn't care if tomorrow was the end of time, so long as I'm with you still," the Irken spoke softly as he nuzzled his head into his lover's shoulder.

"I don't think they'll worry if we sleep out here for a bit," the human spoke before letting out a yawn himself after trying to hold it back as long as he could.

"Agreed," the former Invader turned hero sleepily spoke as he let his eyes drift shut, arms wrapped around him like a security blanket. _"A peaceful life with you, with friends we've made and for me, regained. I know it'll be perfect."_

Hope you enjoyed this ^_^

Read and review please ^w^


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